2005-10-06

Morning Report: October 6, 2005

Man killed in Oklahoma bombing.The Counterterrorism Blog: 'There's an interesting story out of Oklahoma that has gotten surprisingly little media attention. Joel Hinrichs III died on Saturday after apparently detonating an explosive device while sitting on a bench about 100 yards from Oklahoma University's football stadium during the Kansas State-Oklahoma University game. There's speculation that Hinrichs may have been a suicide bomber. ... First of all, a local TV station has reported that Hinrichs had been attending the same mosque in Norman, Oklahoma that alleged 9/11 "twentieth hijacker" Zacarias Moussaoui frequented. On top of that, Dustin Ellison, a feed store operator in Norman, claims that Hinrichs attempted to purchase ammonium nitrate a few days before his death. The store didn't carry the product because of federal guidelines regarding its sale. Ammonium nitrate was a key ingredient in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. A local television station reports that sources have stated that one of the components in the bomb used by Hinrichs was triacetone triperoxide (TATP). TATP is relatively easy to make, and is one of the most sensitive explosives. Attempted shoe bomber Richard Reid had TATP in his shoes. Local television in Oklahoma is also reporting that Hinrichs attempted twice to enter the Kansas State-OU game before he exploded. ... What to make of these various facts? A definitive conclusion cannot be drawn at this point.' Stay tuned. (CTB)

Spy for Philippines caught in White House.Tammy Bruce was among the first bloggers to pick up the story of Leandro Aragoncillo, a US Marine who worked in the Vice President's office and is accused of having stolen classified information over a period of three years. The Belmont Club has more: 'Leandro Aragoncillo, a former US Marine of Filipino origin has been arrested for passing classified documents to foreign leaders, over a period during which he may have been assigned to the White House. SBS News Australia says Aragoncillo passed 100 classified documents from FBI computers which included material damaging to the current President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The information was given to "opposition politicians planning a coup in the Pacific nation" -- including, apparently, former President Joseph Estrada, in jail on various corruption charges. ... (Speculation alert) One might reasonably ask how Joseph Estrada and Panfilo Lacson recruited a spy in the White House. Estrada's most notorious route of access into the 1999 White House was through Mark Jimenez, sentenced to two years in a Miami jail for federal election fraud in 2003. His sentence coincidentally, will be completely served this month. ... Mark Jimenez knew a lot of people in the Democratic Party. Newsmax has connected him with John Kerry in an article dated from 2004.' Full article, with further links, at the Belmont Club link. (Belmont Club)

Britain points finger at Iran regime.Guardian: 'Britain and Iran clashed openly last night after a senior British official directly accused Tehran of supplying Iraqi insurgents with sophisticated roadside bombs that have killed eight British soldiers and two security guards since May. ... The British official said that Iranian interference in Iraq could be related to British pressure on Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons ambitions. "It would be entirely natural that they would want to send a message 'Don't mess with us'," he said. An Iranian government spokesman rejected the British accusations and said it was opposed to the insurgency in Iraq.' Meanwhile, Canada is speaking out against the IRI's human rights violations; Reuters: 'Canada will put forward a resolution in the United Nations shortly accusing Iran of human rights violations, Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew said on Wednesday. "Iran has not lived up to its international human rights obligations and has not conformed with past U.N. resolutions on this matter. We believe this must change," Pettigrew said in a statement.' Both links via Regime Change Iran. (Guardian, Reuters via RCI)

Syria: Regime change soon?Telegraph: 'Israel predicted yesterday that America would impose fresh sanctions on Syria in an attempt to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. Shaul Mofaz, the defence minister, said he believed sanctions would follow publication of a United Nations report expected to implicate senior Syrian officials in the murder of Rafik al-Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister. "I won't be surprised if Syria gets a red card," Mr Mofaz told Israel radio.' Full article at link. Also, via RCI: Lebanese Lobby reports Washington tells Turkey that Syrian liberation is approaching: 'A well known minister in the Turkish parliament revealed yesterday that Steven Hadley, the American National Security advisor reported to the Turkish officials in his latest visit to Ankara, that Washington wants to use the “Angelink” [Incirlik] air base, in its operations to get rid of the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al Assad, and to supervise Iran and be able to isolate it from the International world.'